News from the HSUS

Tara Loller of The HSUS gets a trademark greeting from Velcro, a super-friendly kitty who was among nearly 700 cats rescued in June from a Florida hoarder. James Branaman

What’s New, Pussycats? For the kitties placed at a Florida adopt-a-thon in August, the answer is “Homes!” A huge multi-agency rescue led by Alachua County Animal Services resulted in the seizure of nearly 700 cats from a sanctuary-turned-hoarder in June. Multiple organizations—including The HSUS, Alachua County Animal Services, RedRover, All Cats Healthcare Clinic, the Alachua Humane Society, and the Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida—pitched in to help with their care at a temporary shelter for more than five months. Visitors to the shelter included Doreen and Oliver Bauer, whose work with feral cats was profiled in the September-October 2011 issue of Animal Sheltering and who took in six of the rescued felines. By late summer, most of the cats were healthy enough to start going home, and in September, the groups held a massive adoption event that attracted hundreds of participants—and 257 feline friends went home with new families.

Puppy mills AND a hurricane—what next? In July, the Vermont State Police, assisted by The HSUS, the Humane Society of Chittenden County, and the Franklin County Humane Society, seized 58 malnourished, dehydrated, and parasite-infested Labrador dogs from an alleged puppy mill.